Group Dining – Tara Humata, Roswell, Atlanta, GA

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is “Where is a good restaurant for a group?” I usually recommend here or here. However, I recently had such a fantastic experience at Tara Humata Mexican Restaurant in Roswell, I had to share it.

I’ve been to Tara Humata a couple times with my hiking buddies. There is a trail not too far from Tara Humata in Roswell, and we are all too happy to indulge in some margaritas and cheese dip after a long hike, undoubtedly undoing all the hard work we’d just accomplished. I’ve also eaten lunch there a couple times and was pleased with my choices.

With a birthday on the horizon, my friend selected Tara Humata for our group dining. She had about 18 people coming, so she had to make sure she chose a place that took reservations and that could accommodate a group our size. The previous year she had chosen a popular Mexican restaurant in the Perimeter area, and although it has a huge seating capacity, they refused to take reservations. So, we ended up waiting around about an hour for a table.

Arriving at Tara Humata on a Friday evening, the festive colors, decor and beautiful lighting fixtures welcomed us. The folks at Tar Humata had our table setup when we arrived, ready to serve us. Well, all tables with the exception of the foursome that wanted to linger over their drinks despite several in our group standing waiting for the table to become available. Servers promptly brought out chips and salsa, replacing empty bowls and filling drink orders quickly.

While I like to visit exotic establishments, I get that not all my peeps enjoy such food. Mexican by itself tends to be a crowd-pleaser, but Tara Humata’s menu is even better for having something for everyone to enjoy. They have an abundance of seafood or meat choices. My friend’s husband who doesn’t eat Mexican, mopped up his hamburgesa, bland eaters enjoyed chicken tacos, and foodies like me reveled in the mole enchiladas.

More than that though, we appreciated the fantastic service. Since some had to stand for a while, before the last table was put into place, we were treated to some complimentary cheese dip and guacamole. The several servers that were waiting on our table were friendly, helpful and personable. Remember, with such a large party, a twenty percent tip is automatically added to the bill. So, they could have been gruff and still got the tip but their demeanor was jovial and made us feel even more welcome. They even had a band, belting out some great tunes.

There are two problems I find when dining out with large groups. One is that the food doesn’t make it out at at the same time. So one end of the table’s food is getting cold while the other end waits for their entrees. Not the case at Tara Humata. The servers did an excellent job of getting the food out almost all simultaneously.

The other problem I have with large group dining is that restaurants get annoyed when you ask for separate checks or simply say they won’t do it. It is so frustrating when you’ve just enjoyed a meal with friends, to sit there and go through one monumentous check while everyone figures out how much they owe (yes, Eclipse di Luna, I’m talking to you). Again, we didn’t even have to give this a second thought at Tara Humata. Some couples or individuals had to leave early and their check was brought out with a minutes of asking for it. The servers were able to keep individuals accounted for separately, so it wasn’t a big deal at all to separate checks at the end of the evening.

Tara Humata has locations in Roswell and Alpharetta. The birthday girl enjoyed a stress-free Birthday evening with her pals. Isn’t that how all Birthday dinners should be? If you are planning a group outing in the Alpharetta, Roswell, East Cobb, or Woodstock area, Tara Humata is an excellent choice, especially if you like hassle free dining and spot on service.

4 thoughts on “Group Dining – Tara Humata, Roswell, Atlanta, GA”

Over the past year we have seen waterstone decline in quality. The first visit was very nice…attentive staff and good quality food. Each subsequent vist has been less enjoyable. Not long ago we found out they were cutting their days open to accomodate their catering business. Our last vist (and probably truly our last was) last Friday. We arrived around 7;30 PM.Service was pleasant but very slow even though it was not crowded at all. The food was not as well-prepared as it had been previously. The calamari was very oily and tough. The BBQ shrimp were over-cooked and oddly too sweet. My husband’s salmon was very dry and my entree, a special which I had chosen mainly because of the asparagus and risotto side, came with broccoli…which I detest. The server apologized for the substitution after I questioned her. She said they didn’t have asparagus so I asked why they had it as a special and she shrugged her shoulders. As the meal progressed we found we had a new server. The other had been sent home as they were slow. So they sent her home that close to closing? Odd. Then a couple came in around 8:45. We heard the hostess state since they were closing at 9:30 they couldn’t seat them. What? That told me that they are not interested in their regular business anymore…just the catering and special events portion. But since I still paid good money for sloppy service and less than average food I feel cheated. I hate it because we used to truly enjoy the place. I guess they have chosen a new focus.

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Malika Bowling is the author of Food Lovers’ Guide to Atlanta and Food Blogging 101. She has been featured on HGTV and The Huffington Post and has been a contributing writer to USA Today. She is the Food & Drink contributor for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. Malika also has served as a judge at various culinary competitions and food festivals, including Taste of Atlanta. She is also the President of the Association of Food Bloggers.